Easter Treats: Buttery Saffron Brioche

As March turns into April and we turn our clocks forward to “save time” I was surprised to look at the calendar and see that another holiday is upon us. Time is flying and there seems to be no saving it. Easter is but a few days away and this year Easter Sunday also chimes in Tom’s birthday.

This time last year we were celebrating Tom’s 40th with such a bang and had big plans for new adventures in a new country. As I waited for the lights to turn green, turning the music up a notch, I could not help but think it all seems so far away now. Was it only last year?

I looked out of the window of my Golf. Grey skies and an early morning Spring mist floated across the green fields, playing hide and seek with the blooming trees.

This time last year I wasn’t expecting to experience my beloved German Spring. But here I am and getting very excited to see the first of the crocuses, tulips and forsythia blooming into their glorious burst of colors.

I wasn’t expecting to flavor the juicy fresh Spring produce as it comes into season – because where I was going it was available throughout the year. It’s actually the experience of eagerly waiting for something to come into season and then savoring it with honest pleasure, which I was going to miss the most. But here I am and my Farmer’s Market is slowly bringing the first asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries and a variety of other delicious produce. I feel like a little girl who can hardly wait to open her birthday presents.

As the lights turned green again, I smiled – things change so fast, time is transient and not meant to be saved. Memories on the other hand can be and filed away to be used at a another time.

One can feel that it’s Easter break in Weimar. There is a slight tranquility on the streets and as schools and the university take a break, the pressure to get anywhere quickly has disappeared. Soeren is at his grandparents, Tom is in Vienna and I am feeling guilty that I am liking the serenity of it all.

These brioches are totally buttery and utterly delicious, with an addition of quark into the dough to intensify the flavor of butter. Make sure that the ingredients and chilled so that butter is integrated into the dough without melting and separating. Saffron adds an incredible highlight to the brioche making it aromatic and silky.

Place the cold butter cubes in a bowl and with an electric beater, beat until the butter is smooth and creamy, with no lumps. Scrape the butter into a smaller bowl and set aside in the refrigerator until required.

Dissolve yeast in a clean bowl, with 1 teaspoon sugar and the saffron water. Using the kneading hooks of your electric beater add the remaining sugar, quark, eggs, salt and flour. Mix all the ingredients on low speed until everything is nicely blended. Scrape the bowl as you go along.

Turn up the speed of the beaters to medium and continue beating for another 5-7 minutes. The dough should be very sticky, soft and supple. You’ll have to keep stopping and scrapping it from the sides and from the hooks.

Add the cold creamed butter in several portions into the dough. Push the pieces right into the dough and beat well to integrate it without and lumps into the saffron dough. You’ll have to keep stopping and scrapping it from the sides and from the hooks.

Scrape the dough into a clean bowl, cover with a cloth and refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the flavors to really intermingle well.

Butter your brioche, muffin or loaf pans generously.

Scrape the dough out onto a nicely floured surface and punch it down with your hands. It will still be slightly sticky. Divide it into about equal 10-12 portions for brioche/muffin pans or shape into 2-3 loaves for the loaf pans.

For individual brioches, pinch off a smaller piece of each portion. Taking the larger portion and in the cup of your hand tightly roll the dough into a tight ball. Do the same with the smaller portion. Place the larger dough ball into the brioche or muffin form and then put the smaller portion on top. Gently pinch the sides to secure it. Repeat this procedure until all of the portions are formed.

For the loaf pans, shape the portions into a loaf and place into the loaf forms.

Place the forms on a baking tray, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the brioches rise for 2 hours in a warm and dry place.

In the meantime, prepare the egg wash by beating the egg with a 1 teaspoon of water.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Brush the egg wash gently over each brioche. Be careful not to get any on the forms.

Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes, until the tops are golden. Cool on a rack.

- You can enjoy the brioche warm or at room temperature.

- I love it fresh with butter with a variety of jams, jellies and preserves or with a drizzle of honey. A day or two later it’s perfect toasted.

Taste-wise this is a wonderfully rich brioche with a fluffy and light texture. The saffron not only lends its vivid sunny yellow color but provides an aromatic and subtle flavor to the brioche. It is the perfect option for your Easter brunch and will leave all your guests in awe.

I am so glad I landed here today Meeta. I was thinking of attempting to make quark and lo and behold, the recipe falls into my lap. Thank you:) That golden brioche looks sensational too. May you and your family have a joyous Easter holiday.

I look at the squirrels everyday and see how they are frantically working to stock up those cupboards before winter sleep starts. Spring or winter, I think a brioche would be an awesome start to a day!!! Good luck with all your planning!

Butter, bread and spring. Mothernature really knows how to make us happy. We are heading into Autumn (Fall) in Australia and I can feel the cool coming in. I think this loaf will be perfect no matter what kind of weather.

I must start adding saffron to more things. And you bake a gorgeous brioche! Beautiful! And I am still waiting for Spring. The first of the Brittany gariguette strawberries are on the market but they may be hothouse so I am waiting even though they are deep red and look too luscious!

Sounds like a fabulous Easter and birthday buffet you are going to have!

Your brioche with saffron sound divine! I like brioche so much but I'm very lazy to make them at home as I don't have a stand mixer, and it's very difficult to knead the dough by hands. I still hope the propers spring will come here soon too! :)

Amazing what changes in a year, isn't it? I'm so glad that you are enjoying the German spring and new flowers and seasonal treats. These buns are so beautiful and almost glow with the saffron! My Easter will include hot cross buns...and I'm going to check your recipe for tips :)

Hi Meeta, i made the brioche yesterday/today and followed your recipe exactly.My dough was very difficult to work with, forming balls was even an almost impossible task :-),it was quite wet and very sticky, maybe because i used large eggs? or we might have different flour here (Holland)?I baked them in loaf pans, and it took 30-35 minutes to bake them.Happy easter!

thank you all so much for all your comments. glad you like this recipe.

Monique, the dough is a rater sticky dough and when you turn it out on the counter you will have to make sure it is floured. also while rolling the dough with your hands you should work with lightly floured hands. of course the ingredients and ovens all play a role too. each oven is very different from the other - but did they taste good? that's pretty much what interests me - LOL!

Meeta..your saffron brioche buns just may be the most beautiful brioche buns I've ever seen. I cannot stop looking at your stunning photos. You really did capture Spring and Easter perfectly :) I hope I can turn out a brioche bun or brioche loaf as beautiful as yours one day!@

These have got to be some of the most sexy looking brioche I have ever seen Meeta. Stunning girl. And I have no doubt that they taste just as good as they look. Will have to try this some time soon. Thank you. Hugs xx

The brioche looks heavenly and I am totally fond of the tins you bake them in.I am very happy that spring has arrived lately. I like snow but at the moment I cheer about every small leaf that appears on the bushs and trees outside!

Hi MeetaI am a long time lurker and admirer of your blog.Your recipes and writings leave me in awe. I can say that yours is the best food blog with most cosmopolitan appeal to it.This Brioche has caught my fancy and i wish to bake it for weekend. But as im from India, we dont get "strong white flour" here. Instead what we get is "plain flour or Maida" if you know that. Can that we used for making this beauty? also, can cream be used instead of quark? If you can sort out this for me, I promise you can feast on your Brioche at our table this weekend.

Thanks everyone for your great comments. Good to see that you all are enjoying this recipe.

Pooja - Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the brioche when you make it. You can substitute ricotta for the quark and cream will make this too runny. However, I have a very easy recipe for Homemade quark which you can make. I have tried making this with all purpose flour and while the texture was slightly different it does work. Have fun!

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hello, I am Meeta a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer living in the cuturally rich city of Weimar, Germany with my husband and our son, where I enjoy preparing multi-cultural home cooked meals with fresh organic ingredients. What's for lunch, Honey? is my award winning food blog where I combine my love for food with my love for photography and styling...